The electronic payment industry in Nigeria received a major boost recently as one of the leading companies in the industry, Electronic Payplus, was given Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (POC DSS) and ISO Quality Management System (QSM) certification.
The certification, according to Infoprive, the certifying company, was a testament to Epaymentplus’ commitment to security, innovation and sustainability of its operations in the country’s electronic payment industry.
For a market that is highly challenged by security issues, this certification is a major development as it will improve significantly consumer confidence in the epayment products and solutions, especially those coming from the Epaymentplus stable.
Epaymentplus is not new to certifications having received other certifications from Mastercard, Visa Card International and Verve. All these are pointers to the fact that the company is committed to security which, according to Bayo Adeokun, the managing director/CEO, is the buss word in the industry.
“We are the first indigenous company to get this certification and we decided to do it because, going forward, there are other areas of this business we want to go into”, Adeokun said, assuring, “we will continue to play leadership role in the market and what we are doing here today is one of such roles. We will be at the forefront of security and our customers know us for being security conscious”.
The driving force in the company’s operation is its strong belief in innovation which explains their decision to set up a department dedicated to innovation. The company also believes that to continue to be relevant, it has to be sustainable in its operation.
“From the beginning, what we have been trying to do here is to think of tomorrow; to build a company that will outlive all of us. We believe that to be able to do that, you must reinvent yourself and innovate. We also believe that, without innovation, you cannot be sustainable. That is part of our vision and mission as an organization. We are always thinking of doing new things”, the CEO revealed at a media briefing in Lagos at the weekend.
In spite of the challenges posed by the operating environment, the electronic card payment in Nigeria has seen phenomenal growth in the past 15 years it entered the Nigerian market. This is reflected in the growth of the operating firms like Epaymentlus which started 13 years ago as a POS deployment company but is today the second largest in the market.
This observable growth has been attributed to the company’s dedication and the different products it has brought into the market. “We have products which our competitors don’t have. So, we have been very impactful in this market; we have some payment solutions that we will be bringing into the market in the next couple of weeks and to be able to do that successfully and get the acceptance of the market, you must be PCI DSS certified”, the CEO stated.
Though security can never be completely eliminated in the epayment card industry, Adetokunbo Omotosho, managing consultant at Infoprive, emphasized that it was the moving target. “One of the things Electronic Payplus has done is to put in place those things that have enabled them to stay ahead of the security challenges. It has not been an easy journey. This certification was intended to be a three-month project but it ended up being a nine month project”, he said.
The delay, he explained, was because there were some things that had to be done and these were the solutions that needed to be deployed including enhanced technologies that needed to be put in place.
“I am proud to be part of this journey and for our company to be the one that certified the first smart card production company in this country with PSC DSS. This only shows they are thinking ahead of the market. I quite appreciate their commitment to security. Their commitment to security is really top-notch and that has far-reaching impact on society”, he assured.
Epaymentplus has strong footprints in this industry with both the federal and state governments as clients. The company is the one driving the National ID Card in Nigeria and is in talks with the Lagos State government for the production of Residents Cards for the state.
